1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective cover for a golf club.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a golf bag 21, is partitioned to separately receive a plurality of golf clubs therein. The golf bag 21 also has a slope at the bottom thereof so that the user can easily and conveniently select and extract one of golf clubs 1 from the golf bag 21 for use.
Golf clubs 1 are received in the golf bag 21 while being arranged together in parallel in such a manner that those having shorter lengths are received in the front portion of the golf bag 21 whereas those having longer lengths are received in the rear portion of the golf bag 21. Accordingly, the golf clubs 1 can be easily selected for use. Meanwhile, when the user carries the golf bag 21, golf clubs 1 received in the golf bag 21 may shift or move, so that they come into contact with one another.
Where golf clubs 1 are received in the golf bag 21 in a manner shown in FIG. 1, even among portions partitioned by internal walls 22, as shown, the head 2 of a shorter one of adjacent golf clubs 1 comes into contact with the shaft 3 of the longer golf club, thereby causing the shaft 3 of the longer golf club to be scratched. As a result, the paint layer on the surface of the shaft 3 is scratched and may peel off. This results in a degradation in the appearance of the golf club.
In order to solve such a problem, a head cover as illustrated in FIG. 2 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 2, a head cover portion 4 is adapted to enclose the head 2 of a golf club 1, and a shaft cover portion 5 is adapted to enclose the lower portion of the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 adjacent to the head 2.
This head cover is put onto the golf club 1 before the golf club 1 is received in the golf bag 21. That is, the head cover is put onto the golf club 1 by inserting the head 2 of the golf club 1 into an opening defined at the lower end of the shaft cover portion 5 while the golf club 1 is held in an inverted (club end down) position, until the head 2 is enclosed by the head cover portion 4 while the shaft 3 is enclosed by the shaft cover portion 5.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 from being damaged due to its movement occurring while carrying the golf bag, because the head cover encloses the head 2 and shaft 3.
However, the opening of the shaft cover portion 5 of such a head cover has a small dimension, taking into consideration the thin construction of the shaft 3 of the golf club 1. Due to such a small dimension of the opening, considerable effort is required to put the head cover onto the golf club 1 and to taking the head cover off the club head. In other words, it is impossible to rapidly put the head cover onto the golf club 1 because the user should insert the head 2 of the golf club 1 into the opening of the head cover while widening the opening of portion 5 by hand. For taking off the head cover, a strong force is again required to extract the head of the golf club through the narrow opening of the head cover.
Furthermore, when the golf club 1, with the head cover is put, into the golf bag 21, the shaft cover portion 5 of the head cover may come into contact, at the lower end thereof, with the heads of other golf clubs already received in the golf bag 21, the head covers of the latter golf clubs or the upper ends of partitions 22 provided in the golf bag 21. As a result, the shaft cover portion 5 of the head cover may shift upwardly at its lower end.
When the head cover portion 5 of the head cover shifts upwardly at its lower end as mentioned above, the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 is exposed, so that it may come into direct contact with other golf clubs. For this reason, this form still permits degradation in the appearance of the golf club shaft.
FIG. 3 illustrates another conventional head cover. This head cover has a cover body 11 adapted to enclose both the head 2 and the lower portion of the shaft 3 of a golf club 1. The cover body 11 is longitudinally slitted to allow an easy insertion of the head 2 and shaft 3 of the golf club 1 into the head cover. The head cover also has a slide fastener 12 attached to the slitted portion of the cover body 11. In the case of this head cover, the slide fastener 12 attached to the cover body 11 is open upon putting the head cover on the golf club 1. Thereafter, the head 2 of the golf club 1 is inserted into the head cover through the wide opening of the head cover. After the insertion, the slide fastener 12 is closed. Thus, the head cover is put onto the golf club 1, so that it protects the head 2 and the lower portion of the shaft 3.
However, this head cover still has an inconvenience in that the slide fastener 12 should be manipulated to be opened and closed every time the head cover is put on the golf club or taken off from the golf club.
Typically, the head cover is made of a thick fabric in order to provide a buffering function. For this reason, the head cover is bulky, so that it unnecessarily occupies a large space. This results in a bulky structure of the golf bag 21 itself.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,193 discloses a "golf club cover". Similarly to the head cover of FIG. 3, the golf club cover disclosed in the patent has a head cover portion adapted to enclose the head of a golf club, and a shaft cover portion extending downwardly from the head cover portion and serving to enclose the lower portion of the shaft of the golf club.
This golf club cover has a different configuration from the head cover of FIG. 3, only in that it has a longitudinal slot formed in the shaft cover portion, in order to conveniently insert the head and shaft of the golf club into the protective cover. However, this golf club cover still has an inconvenience in that to insert the head and shaft of the golf club into the protective cover the slot must be widened.